https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/human-trafficking/apollo-carreon-quiboloy FBI-wanted pastor Apollo Quiboloy's account as well as the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) Facebook page have been terminated. SMNI News is their last remaining holdout online.
Press Release September 4, 2023 Senator Risa Hontiveros on Monday said that she agrees with Vice President Sara Duterte when the latter said that her office could "live without" the P500 million confidential funds they are requesting for 2024, after Duterte admitted to using confidential funds this year for free bus rides, tree plantings and other programs unrelated to security matters. "Masaya ako na mismong si Vice President Duterte na ang nagsabi na kaya nilang mabuhay ng walang malaking confidential funds sa 2024. There is no good reason why the Office of the Vice President (OVP) should have confidential fund allocations that are larger than the combined confidential budgets of our top security agencies," Hontiveros said. During a Senate Finance subcommittee hearing, Hontiveros showed that the OVP's proposed P500 million confidential funds - which have less auditing and reporting requirements than regular public funds - "tower over" the combined P438.2 million confidential and intelligence funds allocated for both the Department of National Defense (DND) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA). "There is something fundamentally wrong when the OVP alone has a confidential fund of half a billion pesos while the NICA itself, which is the government's primary intelligence arm, has confidential and intelligence funds of only P341.2 million. Alam naman natin kung kanino talaga dapat napupunta ang confidential at intelligence funds - sa DND, NICA at iba pang responsable para sa national security, law enforcement at border protection," Hontiveros said. Duterte, during the same hearing, admitted that the OVP has been using its confidential funds for 2023 for the "safe, secure and successful" implementation of initiatives with no direct relation to national security, like the construction of a vice presidents' museum and an OVP permanent office as well as free bus rides, tree plantings and feeding programs. Hontiveros pointed out that the initiatives do not fall under the exclusive list of programs in which confidential funds may be used, as laid out in COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2015-01. The circular, she said, requires that confidential funds be used only for the purchase of information and or expenses "necessary for the formulation and implementation of programs, activities and projects relevant to national security and peace and order." "As important as free bus rides and tree buildings are, these are not projects involving national security for which confidential funds should be used. Hindi iyan pwedeng maging justification para sa napakalaking confidential funds. Pwede namang pondohan ang mga proyekto na yan gamit ang regular funds ng ahensya," the senator said. Hontiveros then urged her colleagues in the Senate to take up the Vice President on her word that she and the OVP can fulfill their functions without the hundreds of millions in confidential funds. "Kayang kaya ng OVP na pagsilbihan ang Bayan ng hindi gumagamit ng confidential funds na halos hindi naau-audit at narereport sa publiko. As I have said before, let's leave the security and intelligence work to the experts," Hontiveros concluded.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
They let you transfer it to other services now, too. That's what I did for my photos and videos before deleting them from Facebook.
nokiamob.net
Foxconn subsidiary FIH, the owner of about 15% of HMD bonds, has published its financial report for 2022. HMD’s revenues have dropped, prompting FIH to cancel investments in more Nokia-branded smartphones and phones. FIH also asked HMD to divest some products such as headphones. HMD’s fundraising in 2022 was unsuccessful. HMD’s Board has extended the Series A2 financing round and hopes to close the round in 2023.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
They're also claiming parts of India and Russia.
www.youtube.com
"Marcos: In line with the long-standing tradition of giving the Office of the Vice President parliamentary courtesy, I move to terminate the briefing for the Office of the Vice President. Manuel: I object. Castro: We object. Zamora calls for a show of hands on whether to approve the motion. Zamora: We have 21 members of the Committee on Appropriations manifesting for the approval of the motion. The Chair declares for the motion to terminate the presentation of the budget approved. Castro: Madam Chair, may we have a manifestation? Zamora tells Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, senior committee vice chairperson: Madam Chair, we already have terminated the presentation and the— Castro: Point of order, Madam Chair, may I explain my vote why I do not like the hearing of the Office of the Vice President to be terminated? I know we have the right as a Minority bloc, Madam Chair. So may we explain why we vote no? Zamora: With all due respect, this representation would like to request the honorable Castro to just please submit the manifestation to the Committee on Appropriations. Castro: I object…Hindi natin inaasahan ang ganitong proceedings. Meron tayong issue na dapat pakinggan at dapat masagot ng Office of the Vice President. Kailangang maipaliwanag ang ₱125 million. At sinabi naman sa statement ni Vice President Duterte na mag-e-explain. So I have the right to explain why I voted no. Kailangang malaman itong ₱125 million na not-confidential fund pero ginastos ng Office of the Vice President na kung saan [mic turned off]."
mb.com.ph
The local digital banking space is a battleground but in the middle of the rivalry to be No. 1, the six digital banks decided to establish their own association first, the Digital Banking Association of the Philippines (DBAP). The digital banks want DBAP to be their launching pad to help them to go global. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas apparently agrees, and has endorsed the establishment of the group, according to bank officials. For now, there are only six banks with digital banking license in the Philippines. Most of the digital banks started operations within the first six months of 2022. The country's digital banks are: government-owned Overseas Filipino Bank Inc. of Land Bank of the Philippines; Tonik Digital Bank of Tonik Financial Pte Ltd. of Singapore; UNObank Inc. of Singapore; GoTyme Bank Corp. of the Gokongwei Group’s Robinsons Bank; Maya Bank of the PLDT Group; and UnionDigital Bank of Aboitiz-led Union Bank of the Philippines.
>There’s also a new Bing widget that lets you access the chat from the homepage. >Here’s the official changelog: >- New – Start a Bing Chat conversation from anywhere in the Launcher you find search. >- Bing is your A1-powered copilot and can provide helpful answers to your questions. >- Bing Chat functionality is available in regions supported by Bing Chat. >- Bing Chat functionality requires Android 8.0 and up >- Bug fixes.
The Ukrainian government is ready to share the experiences of its soldiers to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and discuss the establishment of a military technical exchange program. Denys Mykhailiuk, Ukraine's Chargé d'affaires in Malaysia, who also has jurisdiction over the Philippines, believes that the Philippine government may be interested in learning how Ukraine defended their rights against the occupation of a bigger and more powerful country like Russia. "We can also discuss some military technical preparation and exchange in experience because our forte is the biggest war conflict since the time of the Second World War and for the Filipino army, they might be interested to study and learn experience from our veterans on how to counter a bigger enemy," Mykhailiuk said. However, the Ukrainian official clarified his government is not encouraging the Philippines to go to war. Instead, he said the Philippines should be prepared for any scenario, especially since there are parts of the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone being claimed by a bigger and more powerful country. The Ukrainian official did not mention any specific country, but China is claiming almost the entire West Philippine Sea, which according to the 2016 arbitral ruling is within the Philippines' Exclusive Economic Zone. Freedom of navigation, maritime issues, and free trade are among the topics that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to discuss with Philippine President Bongbong Marcos via a phone meeting. According to Mykhailiuk, "We also cooperate greatly in the areas of granting of free navigation and free trade, you know the Filipinos is the number one country with the quantity of seafarers and Ukraine is the second one, and so we can cooperate greatly in protection of maritime trade." The AFP has not yet responded to Ukraine's offer of a military technical exchange program. However, it said earlier that despite China's actions in the West Philippine Sea, it still supports the peaceful resolution of disputes. The Ukrainian official announced the offer of a military technical exchange program to the AFP in commemoration of Ukraine's 32nd Independence Day. This is a significant event for Ukraine, even amid the ongoing war between Ukrainian and Russian forces. However, the Ukrainian official reveals that despite the ongoing war, they are already planning and developing a recovery plan for rebuilding their infrastructure. He said his country recognizes the skills of Filipino workers, such as engineers and construction workers, and hopes to have Filipino labor to help them rebuild their country. "We will definitely be in bad need for labor, qualified labor to the country. We already launched the so-called fast recovery plan to transform and rebuild our economy not after the war but already in the time of the war because nobody knows how long it will be, and we lost approximately 30% of our economy," Mykhailiuk said. He said Ukraine will be needing engineers, construction and development laborers for what is foreseen in the next 50 years as the biggest construction site in Europe. According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, only a few Filipinos remain in Ukraine, most of whom are spouses of Ukrainian nationals who chose to stay to help defend their country. —LDF/KG, GMA Integrated News
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 25) — ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro said she will study the possibility of holding Vice President Sara Duterte to account, including filing an impeachment complaint, over the alleged unauthorized use of confidential funds for Duterte's office in 2022. House deputy minority leader Castro said the Office of the Vice President (OVP) spent ₱125 million as confidential funds in 2022 even without Congressional authorization, as there was no appropriation for confidential expenses for the OVP under the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA). Congress enacted the 2022 GAA in 2021, before Duterte was elected into office. She only started her term on June 30 last year. Castro said former Vice President Leni Robredo "did not ask for and consequently was not given any confidential funds for her office for fiscal year 2022." Asked if Castro would file an impeachment complaint against Duterte, the lawmaker said, "Tungkol sa impeachment, siyempre pag-aaralan natin 'yung mga possibility para mapanagot kung makikita natin talaga itong mga binanggit nating violation na ito, lalong lalo na ‘to misuse of public funds, technical malversation, at saka paglabag sa Constitution." [Translation: About impeachment, we would study the possibilities on how to hold officials accountable if we prove there were violations, especially the misuse of public funds, technical malversation, and violating the Constitution.] Castro said she is still waiting for the findings of the Commission on Audit’s (COA) investigation into the matter. "Darating tayo diyan sa bagay na ‘yan sa impeachment pag buo na ‘yong ating data, information, facts, at documents," she added. [Translation: We will come to the discussion of impeachment once our data, information, facts, and documents are complete.] The lawmaker pointed out the presence of confidential funds in the OVP’s report for 2022 during the hearing of the House committee on appropriations in the proposed 2024 budget of COA on Thursday. She believed this was realigned. COA chairperson Gamaliel Cordoba said they will look into it. "The Vice President needs to explain how she could incur obligations amounting to ₱125 million in confidential expenses in the last six months of 2022 despite the fact that her office has no Congressional authorization to do so for that year," Castro said. "Without such authorization, the strict rule prohibiting public disclosure of the use of confidential funds does not apply in this case," she said. "Therefore, we ask that the OVP provide a detailed public accounting of how the ₱125 million was spent." "There may also be violations of the Supreme Court ruling on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) if savings were used to fund this ₱125 million confidential fund," she added. For her part, Duterte said she welcomes the probe recommended by Castro to COA on the 2022 confidential funds of the OVP but stressed the lawmaker "doesn't deserve an explanation." "All she did was wildly and masterfully arrange some allegations against me and the OVP, which will all be answered once the probe is done and during the budget hearing," the vice president added. "Meanwhile, I hope she finds gratification and great joy over the thought of my impeachment from office. Enjoy," she said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 17) — The Supreme Court En Banc has penalized five lawyers for posting homophobic remarks on social media, saying the right to privacy of lawyers is limited especially when it comes to their online activities. Lawyers Noel V. Antay, Jr., Morgan Rosales Nicanor, Joseph Marion Peña Navarrete, and Israel P. Calderon were reprimanded with stern warning, while lawyer Atty. Ernesto Tabujara III was dealt with a heavier punishment of ₱25,000 fine and stern warning. They were found in violation of Rule 7.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. The decision stemmed from a Facebook post initiated by Antay who posted that he prosecuted a case for estafa against a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. He alleged the convicted individual cursed at him and accused him of being a bigot. He then narrated that the judge, whom he described as "somewhat effeminate," chastised the convict. The high court said Antay opened the conversation with homophobic undertones. "These descriptions are uncalled for and have no context in the narrative, thus showing his gender bias," read the decision signed by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo and 14 justices and released on Wednesday. Nicanor, Navarrete, and Calderon chimed in on Antay's post. The justices noted that their comments reeked of misleading stereotypes and wrong, perverse undertones often pinned against members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Tabujara was meted with the heaviest penalty among the five lawyers. He commented under Antay's post: "(s)ino 'yung bakla na judge…(n)aka eye liner and eye shadow pag naghe-hearing. Ang taray pa!" He later on commented that the joke among lawyers is that in a certain courthouse, "sa 2nd floor puro may sira ulo mga judge, sa baba bakla at mga corrupt." [Translation: Who is the gay judge who wears eyeliner and eyeshadows during hearings? And so prickly! In the second floor, the judges are crazy, but in the first floor, you can find the homosexuals and the corrupt ones.] It said Tabujara lumped the alleged homosexual judges with the allegedly corrupt ones, thereby implying that homosexual judges have the same degree of immorality as those of corrupt judges. It added that unlike the other lawyers, Tabujara did not sincerely apologize and showed no hint of remorse, which the court found disturbing. It also slammed Tabujara's comments that he is an ally of the LGBTQIA+ sector to explain his side. "It smacks of hypocrisy," the decision read. "If hurt was unintentionally inflicted, a sincere apology can lessen the sting." The magistrates ruled that lawyers' right to privacy vis-a-vis online activities is not absolute. "It is not a defense that the discriminatory language was uttered in what was seemingly intended to be private exchanges among the macho men. The fact that their exchanges became public trumps whatever intention they may have had to keep their communications private... Unfortunately or fortunately, respondents' true character came to light," the court said. All five lawyers were told that a repetition of the same or similar offense will be dealt with more severely.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 81%
It's Firstpost, their Kremlin-bootlicking YouTube videos are even worse. Just below Forbes Breaking News trash.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 77%
There's not a lot these days ever since Opera and Edge switched to Chromium. You gotta move to Apple's ecosystem for an alternative.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 50%
It's better than Chrome (which has no ad-blocker at all) but I find it doesn't block those insane pop-ups like uBlock on Firefox do. Kinda wish Microsoft would just bring their Add-on store on mobile Edge.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 88%
Don't underestimate people's lack of motivation to switch. Sadly Firefox doesn't come pre-installed on any major phone brands.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
Most people just use the default browser on their phone, even in developed countries. Add to that Google's constant nagging to switch to Chrome which has a powerful effect at keeping their dominance.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
If you like ChatGPT/care less about privacy, Bing is a great alternative.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
I thought it was an announcement about Fediverse/ActivityPub integration. Blockchain is so 2021.
Edit: Nvm looks like it IS from 2020/21. Title is misleading.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
Ah, thanks. For some some reason I can't find it online.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
What happens if that instance shuts down?
www.theverge.com
>1. On my Threads profile, I changed my featured link to be my Mastodon profile URL. >2. Then, on my Mastodon profile, I changed one of the featured links to be my Threads profile URL. >3. After I saved that change, my Mastodon profile showed a green verification checkmark next to my Threads profile URL. Success!
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
Where is lemmy.world based in anyway?
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Monday defended the Department of Education’s (DepEd) proposal to have P150 million worth of confidential funds, saying that education is tied to national security. Duterte said the DepEd must have confidential funds “because education is intertwined with national security.” “Napakahalaga na we mold children who are patriotic children, who will love our country and defend our country,” Duterte said. (It is so important that we mold children who are patriotic children, who will love our country and defend our country.) The Vice President, however, did not specify how the confidential funds would be able to accomplish such objectives. Both the DepEd and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) proposed a P150 million confidential fund. Duterte pointed out that there is a joint circular with regard to confidential funds, which will detail where the funds are used. “Nakalatag din doon kung paano siya liliquidate and by its nature, its confidential funds so we cannot discuss kung paano siya ginagamit sa operations,” she said. (It is laid out there how it will be liquidated and but by its nature, its confidential funds so we cannot discuss how it will be used in its operations.) According to Duterte, she leaves it to the decision of Congress as to how much to allocate to both the OVP and DepEd.
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
Any news if it's coming to the Play Store?
sirfacefone 1y ago • 100%
Big yikes. My biggest worry is that CIF is harder to audit by the COA. RIP transparency.